Mocktails — spirit-free sips, no-proof cocktails, nonalcoholic drinks — whatever you want to call them, have come a long way in recent years. Bars and restaurants are crafting these libations with care and creativity and in some cases developing no-alcohol versions of their signature cocktails.
Consumers now expect to see some mocktails on a drink menu, and they expect them to be as good as spirited drinks. Operators that don’t have a decent spirit-free lineup are leaving money on the table.
While January is always a good time to promote your no-ABV beverages, keep in mind that consumers today opt for nonalcoholic drinks throughout the year, and sometimes even during the same drinking occasion that they’re having a spirited cocktail. Here are 10 we like for this year (so far!) and a few mocktails that hit our radar in 2023.
Risky Business
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz. Seedlip Aromatic #94
- ¾ oz. Grenadine
- ½ oz. Strawberry/balsamic shrub
- ½ oz. Lemon juice
- ½ oz. Lime juice
- 3 Cardamom pods
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in shaker tin.
- Mount with ice and shake.
- Strain into double Old Fashioned glass, mount with ice
- Garnish with a lemon flag.
Notes
Garth Poe, bar manager at Easy Bistro & Bar in Chattanooga, TN, created this recipe.
Matcha Mint Garden & Tonic
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz. Seedlip Garden
- 1 ½ oz. Mint simple syrup
- 1 oz. Fresh-pressed green juice
- 1 oz. Lime juice
- 1 tbsp. Unsweetened matcha powder
- Tonic
Instructions
- Shake ingredients with ice.
- Strain into a goblet glass filled with ice.
- Top with tonic.
- Garnish with sliced cucumber and mint sprig.
Notes
The mixologists at Yampa Valley Kitchen in Steamboat Springs, CO, created this recipe.
To the Bus
Ingredients
- ¾ oz. Ritual Tequila
- 1 oz. Orange juice
- 1 oz. Pineapple juice
- ¾ oz. Jalapeno-cilantro reduction
- ½ oz. Grenadine
- Top with sparkling water
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker except grenadine and sparkling water.
- Shake for 10-15 seconds.
- Add grenadine to the bottom of the glass.
- Add crushed or pebble ice.
- Strain liquid from cocktail shaker into the glass on top of the grenadine and ice.
- Top with sparkling water.
Notes
Morgan Styers, lead bartender of Merchant & Trade in the Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel in Charlotte, NC, created this recipe.
Lights Out
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz. Zero-proof Three Spirits Livener
- ½ oz. Blackberry-thyme simple syrup*
- 2-3 dashes Dram Apothecary Palo Santo bitters
- 6 dashes Fee Brothers Aztec chocolate bitters
- Soda water
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a shaker filled with ice.
- Shake for a few seconds.
- Pour over a cube of ice, or a cup filled with ice.
- Garnish with blackberries and fresh thyme leaves.
Notes
*For Blackberry-thyme simple syrup:
Combine 1 quart sugar, 1 quart water, and a pint of blackberries. Bring to a boil and boil for five minutes. Turn off the heat and add a sprig of thyme. Cover and let ingredients steep for 30 minutes or until cooled. Strain. The mixologists at OAK at Fourteenth in Boulder, CO, created this recipe.
Combine 1 quart sugar, 1 quart water, and a pint of blackberries. Bring to a boil and boil for five minutes. Turn off the heat and add a sprig of thyme. Cover and let ingredients steep for 30 minutes or until cooled. Strain. The mixologists at OAK at Fourteenth in Boulder, CO, created this recipe.
Sunset Cliffs
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz. Lyre’s Pink London spirit
- 1 oz. Aloe vera juice
- ¾ oz. Simple syrup
- ¾ oz. Lemon juice
- 3 dashes of Hella apple blossom bitters
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a tin.
- Shake and strain into a coupe.
- Garnish with a lime wheel.
Notes
he mixologists at Paradisaea in San Diego, CA, created this recipe.
Free Bird
Ingredients
- 1 oz. Amaro Lucano NA
- 1 ½ oz. Pineapple juice
- ¾ oz. Cranberry Juice
- ½ oz. Passion fruit juice
- ½ oz. Lime juice
- ⅓ oz. Cherry juice
- ½ oz. Simple syrup
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake.
- Strain into a highball glass with fresh ice.
- Garnish with 2 mint sprigs, and a dehydrated lemon slice.
Notes
The mixologists at Amaro Lucano created this recipe.
Just in Thyme
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Gin Alternative
- ¾ oz. Basil-thyme syrup
- ¾ oz. Lemon juice
- 4-6 drops Non-alcoholic lavender bitters
- 1 oz. Tonic water
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Shake thoroughly.
- Double strain into a coupe glass.
- Garnish with a lavender sprig.
Notes
The mixologists at Emilia’s at The Crescent Hotel in Fort Worth, TX, created this recipe.
Cloud 9
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Seedlip Spice 94
- ¾ oz. Rosemary syrup
- ½ oz. Cranberry juice
- 0½ oz. Orange juice
- 1 oz. Lime juice
- Fresh rosemary sprig garnish
Instructions
- Add ingredients in mixing tin with ice.
- Shake to full dilution.
- Double strain into coupe glass.
- Garnish with fresh rosemary sprig.
Notes
The mixologists at The Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C., created this recipe.
Sin City Sober
Ingredients
- 2 Fresh Strawberries
- 5 Mint Leaves
- ¾ oz. Lemon juice
- ¾ oz. Simple syrup
- 4 oz. Still water
Instructions
- Muddle mint leaves and strawberries in a shaker tin.
- Add lemon juice, simple syrup, still water and shake.
- Pour into a Collins glass.
- Garnish with a strawberry and mint sprig.
Notes
The mixologists at Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino in Las Vegas created this recipe.
Beets Of Burden
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz. Lyre’s agave blanco spirit
- ½ oz. Beet juice
- ¾ oz. Lime juice
- 1 oz. Demerara syrup
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small shaker tin
- Add ice and stir 20 times
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice
Notes
The mixologists at Latitude 28 & The Lobby Bar at JW Marriott Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa in Clearwater Beach, FL, created this recipe.
